Born in Houston, Peter Roussel followed his parents' footsteps in becoming a journalist. He worked as a Press spokeman for several Presidents and Secretary of State. After moving to Houston from Washington, he became a TV-Radio commentator and...

In his interview, Rev. William Lawson explains what he means by the "Black Church" and the role of the Church in the Black community, and their contributions. He was involved in the PUSH (People for the Upgrading of schools in Houston)

Dr. Robert Galloway discusses his childhood summers in Brookshire, TX, his career path in internal medicine, and his passion for the arts which led to his founding of the African American Heritage Museum of Houston.

A collection of radio addresses from Mayor Oscar Holcombe. Mayor Holcombe gave some of these radio addresses in 1940 during his re-election campaign. He spoke about the achievements of the Holcombe Administration and the proposed projects...

Dick Gottlieb was a former TV entertainer who decided to run for city council in 1969. He beat the incumbent in a run-off election achieving an upset victory. He credited his TV image and prior experience as a fundraiser for local and national...

Ann Holmes started her career as a volunteer at the Museum and Miller Theater. After seeing an editorial in the local newspaper which she thought was wrong, she decided to find a place to give her voice. She joined the Houston Chronicle in 1942,...

Dr. Russel J. Blattner came to Houston in 1947. In his oral history, Dr. Blattner details his medical career and describes the Houston medical center in the 1940s and 1950s. Dr. Blattner shares stories about many well known doctors such as Dr....

Born in Long Beach, Mississippi, Everett Collier came to Houston in 1929 when he was 14 years old. He went to Sam Houston High School, where one of his teachers was Lyndon B. Johnson, who was to become his lifelong friend. Later, Collier would...

Walker, May--Interviews ; Policewomen--Texas--Houston ; African American police--Texas--Houston ; Harris County (Tex.) [also has a book titled The History of the Black Police Officers in the Houston Police Department 1878-1988]

Constable Walker discusses her journey to becoming the first female and first African American female Constable in Harris County as well as the state of Texas.

Reverend Arturo Fernandez began his urban ministry in Dallas, then later was transferred to Houston where he became minister of El Mesias United Methodist Church. In this interview, Reverend Fernandez shares his experiences setting up faith-based...

Jane Ely describes her career as a journalist working for the Houston Post. She talks about gender discrimination in her field, the coverage of the J.F. Kennedy assassination, and other events that made news at the time.

Trained at the Pasadens Playhouse School of the theater in California, Vernon Chambers directed plays and was radio broadcaster. He later became Program Director at KCOH radio station. Originator of the Distributive Education program, Chambers...

Born in Houston, Texas, and graduating from the University of Texas in Marketing and Business, Alan Becker started his career in Life insurance. In this interview, he discusses the rapid growth and development of Houston in the 1950s, and the...

Ed Smith discusses his career and his fondest memories with Foley's. He started with Foley's as Manager of Credit promotion, and gradually rose to the rank of Vice-President of Public Relations, Special events and Community Affairs and Visitor...

John Biggers, a renown artist and professor at Texas Southern University, shares the highlights of his career. He established the art department at TSU and was one of the first African American artists to visit Africa.

Margaret Webb Dreyer studied at the University of Texas and the Museum of Fine Arts School and honed her abstract expressionist painting style during time spent in San Miguel, Mexico. Dreyer worked in watercolor as well as acrylics and oil and was...